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Northamber’s (LSE:NAR) previous board of directors were well aware of the company’s cash tied up in property – over £16m for a £13.8m MCap company. But instead of releasing that cash for shareholders to invest elsewhere they insisted that it would be used to invest in the operating business. Today we’ll look at that operating business.
The sorry profit history – or should that be loss history
| 2019 | Loss £0.60m |
| 2018 | Loss £0.49m |
| 2017 | Loss £1.0m |
| 2016 | Loss £1.23m |
| 2015 | Loss £0.89m |
| 2014 | Loss £1.16m |
| 2013 | Loss £0.98m |
| 2012 | Breakeven |
| 2011 | Loss £0.1m |
| 2010 | £0.17m |
| 2009 | £0.05m |
| 2008 | £0.41m |
| 2007 | £1.1m |
| 2006 | £0.23m |
| 2005 | £1.71m |
You’d have to go back a decade to find any kind of annual profit. You’d have to go back 13 years to find a return on capital employed even approaching an acceptable level.
What have they done to mitigate?
Over ten years the directors regularly told shareholders that they were cutting out “empty revenues”. And, then the next year shareholders found that unprofitable sales were still taking place.
Revenue did fall – from £128m in 2010 to £50m in 2019. So they did cut, or were forced by customers to cut, the level of activity, but they still couldn’t find profits.
Another action they took was to reduce staff costs from £5.1m and 143 employees in 2010 to £3.2m and 73 employees in 2019.
It’s no wonder that they no longer need the 80,000 sq ft warehouse. Also, I’ve heard that half of the rooms in the office building in Chessington are unused.
| Staff numbers | 2019 |
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